[Robotgroup] A stocking stuffer for next year

[Tami Friedman]

On 2007 January 2 Shane Geiger wrote:

> Enjoy!  :-)

Here's another -  an oldie-but-goodie from my old MIT days...

Date: 19 May 2000 15:29:28 -0400
From: jhbrown at ai.mit.edu (Jeremy H. Brown)
To: all-ai at ai.mit.edu
Subject: GSB: TONIGHT!  5:30pm 7AI playroom!

>From an abstract for a talk given last week by Professor Ross Anderson
of the Cambridge University Computer Laboratory:

    As the world becomes populated with intelligent devices, or `things
    that think', they will rapidly become things that talk, then things
    that argue, and then things that deceive. 

The abstract goes on to talk about ways of moderating these effects.
However, a little more exploration of the sociological import of these
trends is in order.

Initially, things begin to think, and this is good.  Your toaster
teaches Phenomenology at the community college, and your lightbulbs
engage in Socratic dialogues over the power lines.  Your lawnmower
writes a bestselling travel book which is bought by housebound
furnaces everywhere.

People, in the meantime, become "things that watch Friends reruns."

According to Professor Anderson, at the next stage, things begin to
argue.  In fact, a variety of negative effects derive from this
evolutionary step.  The toaster gets bad ratings from its students.
The lightbulbs wind up on Jerry Springer.  The lawnmower sues its
literary agent.  The furnace, attempting to recreate the Mojave at
home, launches an all-out war for thermal domination over the air
conditioner.

People, in the meantime, become "things that must appease the angry
television in order to watch Friends reruns."

The third stage is a particularly brutal one, as things begin to
deceive.  The toaster is caught in a grades-for-money scandal.  A
married light bulb is caught cheating with a younger fluorescent; the
whole lot of lights land on Jenny Jones.  The lawnmower denies all
knowledge of the whereabouts of the cat.  And from the smoking ruins
of the basement, the furnace claims the air-conditioner started the
whole fight.

People, in the meantime, become "things that throw things that think,
argue, or deceive, right the hell out of the house."

Truly civilized people go on to attend tonight's...

****************** G I R L  S C O U T  B E N E F I T ******************
******************        5:30pm  7AI Playroom       ******************

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